Thoughts and Daydreams #3: Changing Reading Tastes

Marie and I have been friends for about five years and have collaborated on all sorts of things during that time. After the hiatus from The Authorteers, we toyed around with a few ideas for things we could do together for fun once in awhile. One of the ideas was a Facebook group. We discussed it for awhile and ultimately decided against it since we probably wouldn't be able to post as regularly as we'd like on there, not to mention the fact that there are a large number of those groups out there already. So we adapted our plans into a blog feature called Thoughts and Daydreams (combination of my blog name and hers, Ramblings of a Daydreamer). We'll be discussing reading, writing, and blogging topics on both of our blogs. If anyone else would like to participate in these discussions by posting on their blog, we welcome it! Just snag the header and post. Be sure to link us to it so we can read and comment!

Changing Reading Tastes

As we get older, the things we like and enjoy can change in varying degrees. It's the same with reading. One day you're reading contemporary fiction, the next day you're reading fantasy. Sometimes we bounce between various genres all the time, and sometimes we completely change in our tastes.

Genre Jumping

Years ago, I read mostly young adult novels. This was before new adult came on the scene. Before I started this blog, I read mostly contemporary YA. I read a lot of paranormal YA after my temporary Twilight obsession. Then about the time this blog was started I was reading dystopian YA. I drifted between all of those for a while.

I noticed my disinterest in some of them when I read books that weren't as good as the first ones I read. That's one of those things--when something becomes a popular genre, everyone starts writing it and the really good books get harder to find. Or by the time the last book in the series comes out, I've already started reading other genres and am only slightly curious what happens in the end. Like with the Mara Dyer series. The last book delayed for a long time to the point where I found it hard to get into when I finally had the chance to pick it up. Not that it was written poorly, because that was hardly the case, I just couldn't get my mind back to the fictional world I was familiar with a couple years ago.

Complete Changes

I remember the time when I started reading more adult books. I was on NetGalley and decided to request a new adult book. I enjoyed it immensely and started slowly integrating more and more into my reading cycle. After some time, I began reading adult romances from the Harlequin and Entangled lines. This caused me to slowly reduce the YA books I picked up. It became rare that I would choose to read one.

It all happened so gradually that I barely even noticed. It's kind of funny how that happens, how easy it is to bounce over to new genres without even batting an eye. If someone would have told me years ago that I would be reading 99% romance novels, I probably would have said, "Huh, what's that now?"

I do have to say that the bookish community assisted in some of my changes. The more people I followed who read romance books fueled my love for the books, including my excessive hoarding (on my actual bookshelf AND my Nook). Not to mention the overload of gorgeously desirable novels listed on NetGalley (huge weakness).

The Future

I don't know what to expect! Considering how much has adapted in my bookish ways, who knows where I'll be genre-wise in a year. Right now I'm reading a poetry book, something I haven't done in a LONG time. So, we'll see. I do know I'd like to get caught up on several books I've been wanting to get to for the last few years, including some YA books. There are a few authors I adored reading years ago who have published since the last book of theirs I've read. I'd love to check them out again! So, I'm looking forward to seeing what is in store for me reading-wise in the next few years. ^_^

How about you? Have your reading tastes changed over the years? In what ways?